In search of healthy and fun meals to feed my family, with an eye toward sustainable living.

Here you'll find recipes & ramblings about keeping my family fed with what's available in Alaska between local produce, a little bit of wild harvest, and the modern grocery store.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

AWESOME Breakfast Bars/ Energy Bars

The daughter hiking the PCT made this request: "Mom, if you could experiment with making some breakfast bars, that would be AWESOME: something high-energy that I can nibble on while I'm still in my sleeping bag or even while I'm hiking" -- well, there's a challenge! The remaining kids (Wolf and Pixie) and I will be experimenting and test-tasting...

Never having made anything like this, but feeling confident I CAN DO THAT, I start by searching the internet for some recipes -- ingredients fall into these main groups:DRY INGREDIENTSNuts, seeds, dried fruits, oatsBINDING INGREDIENTSsweeteners and fats (honey, syrup, oil/butter, nut butters, melted marshmallows, etc)Optional: FLAVOR & EXTRA PROTEINprotein or milk powders, vanilla, cinnamon, espresso, chocolate, etc

METHOD: most often the binding ingredients are heated to allow for good mixing.Some recipes call for baking at a low temperature, others for setting in the frig.

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and oil a 9- x 13-inch baking pan or just use a disposable aluminum foil one.

2. Warm the condensed milk in a large pan.

3. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula to fold and distribute.

4. Spread the mixture into the oiled or foil pan and press down with a spatula or, better still, your hands (wearing those disposable latex CSI gloves to stop you from sticking) to make the surface even.

5. Bake for 1 hour, remove, and after about 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down, to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.

Same idea as rice crispy treats: Melt the last 3 ingredients in double-boiler and mix into the dry. Press into brownie tin, and let cool in frig. NOTE: melted marshmallows are VERY messy & difficult to mix. I was going to leave out the butter, but it seemed that it was crucial to the mix, so I did use it. CONCLUSION: probably stay away from marshmallows in the future, or buy marshmallow cream. The crucial test, of course, will be how they hold up on the trail!!!

The rest of the recipes, plus the picture, came from an outdoor blog, Windedbowhunter:

I put the first 4 ingredients in the blender, and twirled it around for about two minutes, until it was all in fairly fine pieces (rice sized or smaller). I then drizzled the honey in slowly. When the ingredients stick together, scoop them out and put on a sheet of waxed paper. I then folded the paper over it and spread it out until it was about 1/4″ thick. I did taste it at this point, and was happy with the taste. Not to sweet, and you could definitely pick up a nice chocolate flavor. The Hemp Seed Butter and Honey held it together nicely. Put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before slicing.

In a double boiler, warm the peanut butter and honey to a smooth consistency. This step can be done in the microwave as well–just heat both ingredients for 70 to 90 seconds. In a mixing bowl, stir together all remaining dry ingredients. Pour in the peanut-butter mixture and stir until completely combined. Spread uniformly into a brownie pan. Slice into 12 to 16 pieces, and then wrap each piece in plastic wrap.

Mix dry ingredients in blender until mixed and in smaller pieces. Add Maple Syrup and Honey and mix until everything sticks together and is ‘clumpy’. Scoop out onto wax paper, and shape into a 1/4″ thick slab. Put a thin layer of oatmeal onto a baking sheet, and then put the slab on top (prevents sticking, and gives the bars a crunchier layer. Bake at 250F for 45 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Mix all dry ingredients in blender until everything is broken into small pieces. Add the Hemp Seed butter and Honey, mix until ingredients stick together. When the ingredients are stuck together, scoop them out and put on a sheet of waxed paper. I then folded the paper over it and spread it out until it was about 1/4″ thick. Put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Did I mention, that all of these great recipes are from Leesa over at 4 All Outdoors?!

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About this blog

Borealkitchen is a blog by an amateur-- I simply enjoy cooking a variety of foods. I was inspired after we started getting a weekly CSA box last winter, which forced me to plan ahead more. This blog is my way of organizing menus and recipes, sharing my family's experiences, plus reflect on food-related issues. I also grow a garden, shop at Farmer's Markets as much as I can, and there's even a little bit of wild harvest as well...Philosophy: Good food, wholesome, mostly. My approach is more product-based than recipe-driven. By this I mean that I try to find something to do with what's in season: this week it might be an abundance of beets, cabbage or collard greens -- then I start searching for meals to incorporate them... I think of recipes as "starting points": when I start cooking, I just start improvising...

My RECIPES are rarely precise: I often just list ingredients ("Bah-humbug" to measuring, except for baking!). If I list recipes from a cookbook, I give the source and variations I've made. If a recipe came from a website, then you'll need to follow the link to the source for the "nitty-gritty" details of that recipe.

Feel free to comment or ask questions. Thanks for visiting!

About Me

I call Alaska home, but am originally from Germany. I'm incredibly lucky to have a job as a naturalist, teaching and hiking the great outdoors. My family:
The Prof (my husband);
Eldest (flown the coop);
Wolfman (teenage son);
Liesl (youngest pixie).